College Art Association of America Records
Scope and Content Note
The bulk of the collection documents the research conducted by the College Art Association of America for its publication, The Index of Twentieth Century Artists through correspondence, exhibition catalogues, press releases and news clippings. Other material was gathered by the staff of Parnassus , another College Art Association publication. In some cases, the two publications shared material. Correspondence dates from 1930 until 1937. Printed material dates from 1901 until 1938.
The files are organized in two series:
Series I. The Index of Twentieth Century Artists
Series II. Parnassus- Exhibition Notices.
The Index series has six sub-series: Exhibitions, Collections, Artists, Note Cards, Printed Material, and Administrative Material. Of particular interest is the correspondence between the College Art Association staff and those artists considered for inclusion in the Index. Most of this correspondence was with American artists, including Paul Manship, Alexander Archipenko, Walter Pach and Alexander Stirling Calder. French artists are also represented.
The second series, Parnassus - Exhibition Notices, consists of exhibition notices received by the staff of Parnassus for inclusion in the publication.
Dates
- 1927-1938
Creator
- College Art Association of America (Organization)
Access Restrictions
These records are open for research under the conditions of The Frick Collection/Frick Art Reference Library Archives access policy. Contact the Archives Department for further information at archives@frick.org.
Historical Note
The College Art Association of America (CAA), founded in 1911, is a membership organization dedicated to education in the visual arts. Throughout its history, this goal has been pursued, in part, by the publication of periodicals, including Parnassus, The College Art Journal and The Index of Twentieth Century Artists, all of which are no longer published. Others, like CAA News, The Art Bulletin and Art Journal, are still in print.
The Index of Twentieth Century Artists, the focus of this collection, first appeared in October 1933. The editors stated intention was to "make available data about the artists of our own time, concerning many of whom little research has as yet be undertaken." In April 1937, The Index of Twentieth Century Artists was published for the last time. The Index featured 125 American artists between October 1933 and April 1937. As these files suggest, the College Art Association intended to included foreign artists in future issues but stopped publishing before any appeared.
Extent
19.0 Linear feet (32 boxes, 38 note card boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Correspondence, exhibition catalogues, press releases, newspaper clippings, and other printed material documenting the research conducted by the College Art Association for their publications, The Index of Twentieth Century Artists and Parnassus.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in two series:
Series I: The Index of Twentieth Century Artists
Series II: Parnassus - Exhibition Notices
Provenance
Gift of the College Art Association of America, 1946.
Processing Information
Arranged and described by Sally Brazil, 1998; Christopher Hauser, 2002; Anne Young, 2006; Shannon Yule, 2009; Susan Chore, 2019.
- Title
- Finding Aid for the College Art Association of America Records, 1927-1938 MS.001
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by Shannon Yule
- Date
- © 2010 The Frick Collection. All rights reserved.
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
Repository Details
Part of the Frick Collection/Frick Art Reference Library Archives Repository
